New Kid On The Block
by Navy-Thunder
Summary: My first Full House story, so be kind! Steph meets a new boy in school and, as time goes on, she learns more about him and finds a closeness between them. Please R&R, every comment is appreciated! CHAPTER 10 IS UP! COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

**New Kid On The Block**

Written by Navy-Thunder

**Plot: Stephanie Tanner, a junior in highschool, is enjoying everything in life a highschool girl has to do. One day she meets a new boy at school, who's in the same year as her. She begins to learn more about him and his life. During this time, he begins to grow onto her and vice versa.**

**------------**

**Chapter 1**

Waiting out at the bus stop was Stephanie Tanner, who looked down at her watch and sighed, wondering if the bus was late today. She was wearing a turquoise blue blouse with a denim skirt that reached just above her knees. Since there were few kids her age on her block, she usually didn't talk with the kids waiting with her. Steph looked up and sighed in relief, seeing the bus drive up. When the doors opened, she walked in the bus and took an empty spot in the middle.

"Another day, I guess..." She said to herself as she began searching through her backpack. She took a book she was reading for a while out of it and resumed reading from the bookmarked spot as she waited for them to arrive at the school.

* * *

"Morning, Steph."

The young blonde turned her head from her locker and smiled at her best friend, Gia. "Hey, Gia. What's up?"

"Not much. Guess what? Kylie Samuels is having a party next week on Friday. You wanna go?" Gia grinned.

"I don't know." Steph shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I don't even have a date."

"That's because you never open up to a lot of guys." Gia pointed out. "Well...open up enough to let them date you."

"Still, I don't know..." Steph shook her head and closed her locker, having the books she needed underneath her arm. She looked over to her right and something grabbed her attention; a dark haired, brown eyed boy at his locker. "Hey, Gia...Do you know him?"

Steph studied the boy carefully. "I never met him before. Must be a new kid." She said and returned to her locker as if she really didn't care. Gia rolled her eyes and nudged her friend gently in the side.

"Go talk to him." She insisted.

"Why?" Steph closed her locker and arched a brow.

"Just go." Gia sighed.

"Why don't you go?" Steph retorted.

The brunette narrowed her eyes before taking Steph by the arm and leading the way to the boy's locker. "Um, excuse me." Gia said politely, which made him turn his head to look at them. "I hope you don't mind a stupid question, but are you new here? It's just that we've never seen you around school before."

"Oh, um, yes I am." The boy said in a shy tone of voice. "I moved here a couple of days ago. I'm Nate Thompson."

"I'm Gia Mahan and this is my best friend, Stephanie Tanner." Gia introduced themselves, noticing Steph was a little too unsure to speak.

Nate flashed a small smile. "Nice to meet you both." He nodded towards the Tanner girl. "Is it okay if I call you Steph?"

"Yeah, Steph is fine." She smiled awkwardly, which somewhat made Nate feel a little more comfortable. She decided to get into this conversation. "So, where are you from?"

"I moved here from New York with my dad. He just couldn't take living there anymore." The new kid shrugged; he always felt a little uncomfortable when talking about his personal life to new people. Steph and Gia nodded, not saying a word.

"So...what class do you have first?" Gia asked, wanting to change the subject as she saw the mood was getting just a little uncomfortable. Nate took his schedule out of his pocket and looked it over.

"I have History first."

"Really? Awesome! You're in the same class as Steph and me?"

"Well, it says that I have Mr. Carson for History."

"Then you're in our class." Gia smiled and looked to Steph. "Isn't that a coincidence?" When she only saw her friend give a tiny nod, Gia rolled her eyes before returning her gaze to Nate. "Anyway, you're new and you probably don't know your way around the school, so..."

"Do you want to walk to class with us?" Steph blurted out before her best friend got another word in. Nate gained a look of surprise before his expression softened into a slight smile.

"Well...Yeah, sure. That'd be cool." He nodded before slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He followed Steph and Gia to history class, not saying much than two words. Ever since he moved to San Francisco, Nate was always a bit of an introvert. It was hard for him to make new friends, but he tried his hardest to make it work.

* * *

During lunchtime, it was a mad house. There were some students shoving other students to advance further into the lunch line or a hamburger patty flinging across the room. Steph searched through the crowded mess hall, lunch tray in hands, for the table she shared with Gia and another friend of theirs, Melissa Clayton. When she found it, she took a seat across from Gia and Melissa.

"It's getting a little crazy..." Steph shook her head. "You sure we're in the right school?"

"Hate to say, but...I don't think we can argue about it." Melissa spoke up.

Gia smirked a bit before looking around. She smiled when she saw Nate trying to search for a table to sit at. "Hey, Steph, look who it is."

"He's in our lunch period, too?" Steph rose her eyebrows.

"Guess so." Gia shrugged her shoulders before motioning for Nate to come over. "Nate! Come sit with us!" She called. The young boy went over and took a seat beside Steph.

"I hope this seat isn't taken." Nate smiled sheepishly. "Do you mind, Steph?"

"Oh, no, not at all. It's yours." Steph returned the smile and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. At that moment, Nate couldn't help but take in the fact that, up close, how beautiful she really was. He tried not to stare as he just enjoyed the company, not feeling embarassed, in the least, about sitting at a table where he was the only boy.

"How are you liking San Francisco?" Steph asked, wanting to strike up a conversation between them.

"It's awesome." Nate smiled a full smile, unlike the small ones he gave earlier. "It's so different from New York. It's not home, but it's awesome."

Steph nodded. "That's good. Maybe one day we'll have to show you around town. They got some great stores around here." She said with a grin. Nate rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm not much of a shopping person." He admitted.

"Oh, trust me, you will be after we're through with you." Melissa spoke up. The four of them shared a laugh afterwards. For the rest of the period, they just continued to enjoy each other, talking amongst themselves.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"C'mon, Tanner. Out with it." Gia said as she and Stephanie stepped inside the Tanner house.

"Out with what? There's nothing to say." Steph shook her head as she tossed her backpack onto the kitchen table. "How long are you going to keep nagging me about Nate?"

"Until you admit it." Gia smirked, taking a seat at the table. "Admit that you have the hots for him."

Steph rolled her eyes, taking a seat beside her.

"Now, don't give me that." Gia scoffed. "Look, I know how you get around him. You're just as quiet as he is when he's around." Seeing that her best friend was becoming uncomfortable, she gave Steph a light clap on the shoulder. "To be honest...I think he's the right guy for you."

"Maybe he is. It's just something about him..." Steph stared off into space dreamily. "He's really nice and really cute...But he's so shy sometimes. I guess he doesn't hang out with a lot of people..."

"Then you know what you should do? You should invite him to go to the party with you as your date." Gia suggested with a smile. "What could it hurt? Besides, he may even say yes."

"Yeah...Maybe." Steph sighed softly, wondering if she should actually go with that plan.

* * *

The next day, Steph didn't see much of Nate. She didn't think much of it, just assuming that he was out sick or something. She went up to her locker and opened it, putting her books inside it. Two males with spiked blonde hair approached the Tanner girl, smug looks upon their faces.

"Hey there, beautiful."

"What do you want, Rich? Paul?" Steph replied coldly, knowing that they were part of the football team and were the two most popular yet egotistical people in school.

"Tell you what, we'll do your reputation a favor. You go out with us tonight and you'll look like a million bucks." Paul proposed. "How's that sound?"

"Um, no thanks. Not interested..." Steph shot back, closing her locker and beginning to walk away. Rich, not willing to take that for an answer, took her by the arm and forced her up against her locker.

"You want to play that way with us, girl?" Rich hissed. "How about this-"

"Hey!"

Rich and Paul turned their heads, seeing Nate approach the two of them and he was not looking too happy with this. Steph let out a sigh of relief, glad to see at least one friendly face today. "Didn't you hear her? She said no, so beat it." Nate folded his arms over his chest.

"And who the hell do you think you are to come up to us like that?" Rich scoffed. "You're in for some rough times if you don't back off now."

"Been there, done that." Nate shot back. "You think I'm afraid of two wanna be greased up jocks like you?"

Paul rolled his eyes, not taking him seriously for a second. Going to shove his shoulder, Paul was utterly shocked when Nate quickly took his arm by the wrist and forced him up against a locker, front first. He then forced Paul's arm up to his back, causing him to yelp in pain. "Now, are you ready to leave her alone?"

"Not even close, dickwa-" Paul managed out before Nate jerked his forearm up against towards his shoulder blades, causing him to yell loudly in pain. "Yes, yes, we'll leave her alone! Now get off of me!"

"Good..." Nate growled and thrown the arrogant jock down to the floor. He knew he was being a little hard on Paul, but Nate just couldn't stand when a friend of his was being harassed.

"You'll be sorry for this later, Thompson." Rich swore angrily as he helped Paul back up and then fled away from the scene. Nate shook his head before going over to Steph.

"Hey...Are you alright? I hope they didn't hurt you." He said gently.

Steph swallowed hard and shook her head. "No, I'm alright." She hid the misty look in her eyes and smiled weakly. "How did you get here so conveniently? Not that I'm complaining..."

"Oh, I just went to the gym and saw what the times were for volleyball. I signed up yesterday. I used to play a little bit back home in New York and decided to see the competition here." Nate explained with a light smile. "Maybe you can see a few of my games?"

"I'd love that." Steph nodded, holding her books in her arms to her chest. "Well...I better get going." She began to walk away but then remembered something. She turned around and walked towards Nate again. "Actually, I did want to ask you something?"

Nate gained a look of curiousity before nodding. "Okay...I'm all ears."

"Well, you see...There's gonna be a party next week on Friday." Steph began uneasily. "Now, I know we've only known each other a couple of days, but I was wondering if you're not busy...If you'd like to go with me as my date?"

Rather than surprise, Nate smiled happily. "Really? You want me to be your date?" When Steph only nodded, Nate returned the nod. "Of course I'll be your date. When should I pick you up?"

"You can pick me up around eight, if that's cool." Steph replied.

"Okay...eight it is." Nate started off the other way to get to class but then remembered something himself: her address and phone number! He quickly made his way back over to her. "Umm...I may need..."

"Oh yeah! How could I forget?" Steph giggled and took her light blue pen out of her pocket. She took the palm of Nate's hand and began to scribble down her address and phone number. "There you go. I think you'll be fine now."

"Cool. I'll see you Friday." Nate, with his charm up to full blast, gave her a friendly kiss on the cheek before starting off to his class once again, leaving a stunned Steph there.

"See you Friday..." She whispered to herself, resting her fingers lightly over her cheek where he kissed her. It looked like she had just been smitten.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Guys, I'm home! And I brought company over!" Steph called out as she stepped inside the house from the back door, Nate following behind her. She turned her head back and smiled at him. "How do you like it?"

"It's really nice. You guys must really be clean freaks." Nate commented as he looked around the kitchen, which made Steph giggle a touch.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." She rolled her eyes before leading them to the living room. She motioned to the couch. "Sit down, please. Would you like a drink or something?"

Nate nodded and took a seat on the couch, cupping his hands on his lap. "Sure, I'd like that."

Steph smiled softly and went back to the kitchen to get drinks for the both of them. This left Nate to just sit and take in the surroundings, admiring the interior decorating. He then heard a set of footsteps come down from the steps behind him. He looked over, seeing Steph's older sister, Donna Jo, known affectionately as "DJ", walk down.

"Hi." DJ greeted. "Are you one of Stephanie's friends?"

"Yes, I am. I'm Nate." He stood up and smiled at her. "And you must be her older sister...DJ, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. It's nice to meet you." The two of them shook hands. Steph walked into the kitchen, holding two glasses of iced tea in her hands. She handed one to Nate.

"So, you're just mingling with the family?" The middle Tanner girl teased. "You should show me your home sometime."

Nate shrugged his shoulders. "Not much to show...It's only me and my dad living together." He admitted with a half smile. Steph nodded slowly in understanding. DJ left the living room, noticing the somewhat sad tone in his voice.

"C'mon, I wanna show you around some more." Steph took him by the arm and lead them upstairs and to her bedroom, which she shared with her little sister, Michelle. She smiled over at the younger girl, who was laying on her bed, reading a book. "Hey, Michelle. I want you to meet someone."

Michelle looked up and saw Nate. She instantly smiled. "You're Nate, right?"

"Yeah, I am. It's nice to meet you, Michelle." He flashed a smile of his own. Michelle nodded and smirked over at her older sister.

"You're right, Steph. He is cute." She said slyly. Nate instantly blushed in pleased embarrassment, Steph's face glowing red in a not so pleased embarrassment. "Um, I think I'll leave right now."

"Good plan." Steph rolled her eyes as she watched her little sister exit the room. She then took a seat on her bed. "Come sit down, Nate..."

The young male sat down on the edge of the bed beside Steph and cupped his hands in his lap, unsure of what to say. The uncomfortable silence was one thing Nate really couldn't stand but wasn't sure of how to fix it.

"Whatever happened to your mom?" Steph asked softly.

Nate hesitated before speaking. "I don't want to talk about it...If it's all the same with you."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Steph waved her hand dismissively. "I know how you feel."

"You do?" Nate arched a brow.

Steph nodded slowly. "My mom died when I was really little..." She said quietly. Those words hit too close to home for Nate. He took a breath and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, you didn't know." The subject of her mother was a sore subject for Steph, but she was old enough now that she was able to take control of her negative emotions. She ran a hand through her hair and looked up at Nate with a sad smile. "You don't want to hear about my problems."

"No, I do...Besides, I have no where else to go." Nate smiled and patted the spot on the couch beside him. "Take a seat and tell me about it..."

With a sigh, Steph went over to the couch and sat down beside him. "It's like this...Sometime after my little sister, Michelle, was born, my mother was driving home from work. She had to work real late that day...A man was driving drunk that night and hit my mother's car. She was sent right to the emergency room." She swallowed hard, trying to fight back the tears coming on. "We got a call from the hospital a while later, saying she was pronounced dead..."

Nate swallowed a lump he felt in his throat; he didn't know that someone else went through similar troubles that he did. All this time he had always thought about himself and never others when it came to personal troubles. Reaching over, Nate ran his hand over Steph's back in small circles in a comforting matter. "I'm sorry...I had no idea. I..."

"You what?" Steph arched a brow over at him, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"It's nothing...It's nothing." Nate said softly. He smiled sadly over at her. "So...You still want to come to my volleyball game tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow's fine with me." She replied. She then smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Nate...For being so supportive." Steph reached in, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug. Nate, taken aback by this sudden show of affection, returned the embrace, pulling her closer to him. The peaceful moment was shattered, however, when another voice spoke up from the doorway.

"Oooh..." Michelle said slyly, leaning against the doorway.

"Michelle..." Steph eyed her little sister threateningly, reluctantly making her way out of Nate's arms.

"I'm going, I'm going." The smallest Tanner daughter rolled her eyes and made her way down the hall, leaving the two alone. Nate stood up from the bed and looked at his wristwatch.

"I better get home. My dad hates it when I'm late." He stated. He smiled down at Steph. "So, tomorrow?"

"I'll be there. And if I'm lucky I'll drag the others to come with." Steph promised, returning his smile.

"Awesome. I'll see ya then." Nate grinned wider and stepped out of the room, leaving her there with the biggest smile that ever made her way to her lips.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next day, excitement was amongst everyone in the school gym, waiting anxiously for the volleyball game to start. Nate was busy stretching out outside the gym, confident about this one game. He took a sip of the water bottle in his hand and set it down on the table across from him. He was in his attire of his blue and white volleyball team uniform.

"Hey there, stranger." Steph chirped as she went over to him, hands on her hips. "You look like you're ready to go."

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Nate took a sip of his water and set his bottle down once more. "I'm a little nervous. I mean, we're playing against Charlotte High School. They're a tough team, Steph."

"But you're an awesome player. Probably the best the school has." Steph said encouragingly. "Just keep a clear head out there. You'll be fine."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Nate smiled some. "You better get back to your folks, though. They're probably waiting, too." The young athlete slipped his white armband onto his left bicep and smiled at her. "Anything else you want to tell me before I go out there?"

"Yeah...Good luck." Steph placed a hand on his arm and leaned up, pecking him gently on the cheek. She pulled back and smiled softly. "Now we're even." With that, she skipped away back into the gym to wait for the game to start. Nate tried to force back the blush coming to his cheeks and went back to stretching. Something caught the corner of his eye, turning around and coming face to face with the two football players from earlier, Rich and Paul.

"Hey, Thompson." Rich greeted.

"What do you guys want?" Nate narrowed his eyes at them.

"Whoa, calm down. We just wanted to talk to you." Paul threw his arms up innocently.

Still a little uneasy, Nate nodded hesitantly. "Fine. What do you guys want to talk about?"

"It's about the game today, dude." Rich stood infront of him and began to speak, making sure he was the only person he saw. "That team from Charlotte is a pretty rough group. You got to keep your head up, you know." While he spoke, Paul took a white stick out of his back pocket and went over to Nate's water bottle, pouring a white powder from the stick into the water. "You got your friends watching your every move. It's go time for you."

"I know, I know. The coach told us before we got changed." Nate smirked, oblivious to their little plan. "But thanks."

"No problem, good luck out there." Rich said before taking Paul by the shoulder and leading them out of the hall. They then hid near a phone booth and snickered quietly so no one could hear. "So, you poured the whole stick in his water?" Rich questioned.

"Every last bit. Man, this is gonna be great." Paul rubbed the palms of his hands together. "We said we'd get him back for what he did. Well, he's gonna get his soon..."

* * *

When the referee blew the whistle, both volleyball teams entered the gym through different doors. The crowds in the bleachers cheered. Supporting Nate was Stephanie, Gia, DJ, Michelle, and Jesse Katsopolis, the Tanner girls' uncle and famous musician.

"So, how good is Nate?" Michelle asked curiously.

"Pretty good, if he's on this team." Jesse stated, folding his arms over his chest.

Nate was standing in the back of the court, tossing his empty water bottle away. He then resumed his spot on the court, ready for anything. The opposing team served the ball first, which Nate was able to bump with his head, letting his teammate spike it down, earning themselves a quick point. Nate was next to serve and he hit over the net. One of the opposing players in front managed to hit it back towards Nate, who dove for it, striking it up in the air with his closed fists, soaring over the net, earning themselves another point. Stephanie smiled, admiring how great a player he was, and clapped from the bleachers.

"We'll take a short time out." The coach announced into his microphone. Nate, feeling too game to quit for a while, went over to Stephanie, DJ, Michelle, and Jesse.

"So, how do you think I'm doing?" He asked, trying to take a light breath.

"Nate, if you were any better, you could be playing for England." Michelle smiled a toothy grin. Giving a confused glance, knowing that she was mistaking volleyball for soccer, only chuckled and patted her on the head gently.

"Thanks, kid. That means a lot." He replied.

DJ smiled and then studied Nate's facial features for a moment, knowing something was off. "Nate...Do you feel alright?" She asked, noticing his skin had paled a little.

"I feel fine, Deej. I never felt better." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, not noticing his appearance change, or his physical change, right away. The coach blew the whistle again, signaling the players to return to the court. Nate jogged back to the playing field and took his position at the back of the court. He served the ball over the net, starting the game again. One of the opposite team members returned the ball back with a bounce up, which Nate tried to hit. It didn't make much of an impact, but one of his teammates, Sammy, was able to save it and spiked it over the net.

"Nate, what's going on?" Sammy questioned, noticing his friend's change in performance. "You're usually playing better than this."

"I dunno...I feel fine, though, don't worry." Nate shook his head, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling that was evident. "Give me the ball."

Sammy caught the ball tossed to him and passed it to Nate, who walked to the back once more. Tossing the ball up, he hit it over the net, but then something happened. The dizziness clouding his mind suddenly became too much and he passed out on the floor. Soon, the competitive mood changed to worry as Nate's teammates huddled around to check on him, murmuring going on in the bleachers. Stephanie and Jesse were quick to leave their seats to go check on him as well, leaving DJ to comfort a shaken up Michelle.

"Everyone, get out of the way. Give him some room to breath." Jesse instructed before kneeling down beside Nate. He then tried to shake him awake. "Nate...Nate, can you hear me?"

Stephanie swallowed hard and quivered out a sigh. "I don't know what to say." She said softly, kneeling down beside Nate's fallen form. She then took his pale hand in hers, running her thumb over his knuckles.

"The less said, the better, sweetheart." Jesse said gently.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The first thing Nate felt in his mind was a numbing dizziness, unsure of where he was or what had happened to him a while ago. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing he was in a white room. He looked up, seeing what was, to him, an angel looking down upon him.

"Nate, you're awake..." Stephanie said softly, being that "angel" that Nate envisioned in his mind. She had his hand in hers, hoping to God that he would be alright. "Are you doing okay?"

"I...I'm okay." Nate seethed in pain as he tried to sit up. Steph placed her other hand on his back to support him. "Where am I?"

"You're in the school nurse's office...You passed out during the volleyball game and hit the back of your head pretty badly." Steph sighed. "How are you feeling right now?"

Nate shook his head, trying to get rid of the dizziness clouding his mind. "I feel like I've been hit by a really big truck..."

"Well, you're gonna feel like that for a while, the nurse says. Until we can figure out what happened out there..." Steph said gently, laying him back down on the bed. "Just try and rest yourself...You'll be okay."

Nate nodded slowly and looked up, seeing DJ, Michelle, and Jesse walk into the nurse's office. DJ had her hands on her baby sister's shoulders for comfort while Jesse tried to look strong, being seen as a pillar of strength in a sense. "Hey there, guys..."

"How are you feeling?" Michelle asked quietly, remembering her own experience in a sort of medical room.

"I'm doing better, Michelle, thank you." Nate replied quietly, cracking a tired smile. "You guys can all go, if you'd like...I need my rest anyway."

Steph's gaze shifted from Nate to the others. "I'll stay and keep him company. Just go home, I'll have Dad pick me up."

"You got it, Steph." Jesse nodded. "C'mon, guys, let's get going." He then beckoned DJ and Michelle out of the office, leaving Steph and Nate together.

"I just wonder, though..." Steph spoke softly.

"Wonder what?" Nate cupped his hands on his stomach and looked up at her.

"How come you fainted back there..."

* * *

DJ, Michelle, and Jesse continued to navigate through the halls of the school, until they came up to some sort of snickering sound. They turned a corner, seeing Rich and Paul standing at the doorway, talking amongst themselves.

"That could not have went any better than we planned..." Rich laughed to himself. "Did you see that?"

"Thompson dropped like a ton of bricks. I guess all it takes is some drugs to slow down the star player." Paul folded his arms over his chest.

"I'll be right back, girls..." Jesse broke away from the girls and approached the two boys. "Hey, did I just hear you right?" He questioned, trying to not show his anger. "Were you guys responsible for Nate's accident today?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do about it, old man?" Paul scoffed, not intimidated by Jesse in the least.

"It's not a matter of what I'm going to do...It's a matter of what you two just did." Jesse said, his anger slowly getting the better of him. "Nate's in the nurse's office, laid up in bed. Did you know that he could've been worse off than he is! He could've been dead right now because of you and your drugs!"

Rich's eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna tell anyone...Not without knowing what else we can do to him." He said coldly. "You think this is all we can do? You're dead wrong, man. If you squeal, we'll make sure Nate's life is hell."

"Now you listen here...Listen right now." Jesse's eyes began to reflect his anger towards these two teens. He stood over Rich and poked him in the chest. "Nate is a good guy and is someone Steph cares about a hell of a lot. And what matters most is my nieces' happiness. Nate makes my middle niece happy...And I will bring down whoever tries to hurt Nate Thompson..."

Rich growled lowly, knowing that he and Paul hit a road block in their twisted efforts to hurt Nate. He then took Paul by the shoulder and lead them away, walking out of the entrance of the school and down the road. Jesse shook his head, not sure what to say now.

"Jess...Are you sure they meant what they said?" DJ asked quietly as she and Michelle went over to their uncle.

"I really hope not." Jesse's fists tightened. "Because if they try any other stupid crap like this...Just wait until I get my hands on them..."

* * *

Steph kept her word, staying by Nate's side while he rested. She took a minute to take in his facial features; he looked very peaceful when he slept. She reached over, stroking his hair gently, seeing that his paleness was beginning to fade and his regular skin color was coming back. Nate opened his eyes again and looked up at her. "I think I'm ready to go home..."

"You sure? Would you like my Dad to drop you off at your place?" Steph offered.

"Nah, I'm fine...I'll just call my dad." Nate shook his head and swung his legs around, sitting up at the edge of the bed. "Got to explain to him why the game ended early..."

Steph nodded and stood up from her chair, going over to the door.

"Steph, wait." Nate stood up slowly and walked over to her. "I was wondering...Maybe you'd like to come over? I mean, you've been wanting to know how my family is." Steph thought about this for a moment and then smiled.

"Of course...I'd love to see your house."

"Awesome." Nate smiled, putting an arm around Steph, leading them out of the nurse's office. Steph didn't really know what to expect at Nate's house, but she had somewhat of an idea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The stroll over to Nate's house wasn't as long as Steph thought. On foot, it was only about a block away from the school. Steph looked as they stepped up to the house. It was a normal sized house, nothing too big, nothing too small. Out in the front yard was a large oak tree and a tire swing hanging from one of the branches.

"This is nice...I bet you and your dad have a good home life here." Steph spoke as she took it all in.

"Yeah, I always thought so." Nate led them towards the door. He took his house key from his back pocket and unlocked the door. He opened it and smiled at Steph. "After you."

"Oh, what a gentleman." She giggled softly and stepped inside, Nate following right behind her and closing the door behind them. "Wow, I like it...It's very nice."

"Thanks, glad you think so." Nate smiled a bit before leading them to the living room, where his father was sitting, watching TV while doing some paperwork. His father was a well built man for his age and had short brown hair and blue eyes. He looked up at his son and Steph.

"Hey there, Nate. How was the game?" He asked.

"Um...It had to be cancelled early." Nate replied, not sure if he should've told his father about the incident during that game. "Unforeseen circumstances, you know? But anyway, I want you to meet someone." He nodded towards Steph. "This is Stephanie Tanner, one of the friends I made at school. Steph, this is my dad, Brendan Thompson."

"Oh, so you're the girl that Nate's been going on and on about." Brendan smiled softly at Steph, extending his hand forward to her. "It's nice to meet you, Stephanie."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Thompson." Steph returned the smile, accepting Brendan's handshake. "You must be proud of your son, sir. He's one of the best that the volleyball team has. He's awesome out there."

Brendan nodded. "I know. He was so good back home. Won a few trophies too during that time." He replied, recalling Nate's previous success. "But that's me talking. I'm sure Nate would love to explain more of this to you. I have to drop these papers off." He tucked his portfolio underneath his arm and went to leave the house. When he did, Steph's lips curled into a small smirk and she turned her head to face Nate.

"Do you really talk about me that much?" She questioned, resting her hands on her hips.

"Would it be wrong if I said I did?" Nate asked, that same shyness that was there when they first met rearing its head out once more.

"Hmm...No, I don't think so." Steph smiled some, returning that shyness. Nate bit on his bottom lip gently before nodding over to the couch.

"Um, have a seat." He offered.

"Oh, thank you." Steph replied before taking a seat on the couch. Nate went over and sat beside her.

"Steph, I just want to say." He began. "Thank you for staying with me in the nurse's office today. I mean, you should've went home. I was gonna be okay, you know that."

"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure." Steph answered, turning herself so she was facing Nate. "I wouldn't want to lose someone else that's close to me." She added softly, recalling her mother who was killed in a car accident and Uncle Papouli who died of natural causes.

"Of course...I guess I forgot about that." Nate rubbed the back of his neck, having his own dark family history himself. Steph nodded before speaking again.

"You never told me about your family, though." She said softly. "I know that it's a difficult to talk about and I know it's a sensitive subject for you, but don't you think you should talk to someone about it? If anyone...at least me. I want to know what's wrong so I can help."

Nate sighed, cupping his hands in his lap and then slouching over a little. "You really wanna know?" He questioned. When Steph nodded her head, Nate began to speak again. "Okay, here's how it is...My mom and dad, somewhere around the time when I was five or six, started to have problems with their marriage. They were either too busy at work to see each other, something was wrong in the house, whatever the case was...It was just unhappy living there. One day, my mom just ran out on me and my father, leaving a note behind saying that she went to Las Vegas." He took a deep breath, hating the feeling of bad feelings coming back.

"That's horrible..." Steph placed her hand lightly over her chest in shock. "She just left you and your dad with only a note?"

Nate only nodded to answer. "And that's not even the worse part of it all." He continued on. "One day when she was going back to her hotel room in Las Vegas, she was found dead there." He swallowed hard, trying his best not to crack. "Sources said she was raped because her clothes were torn and there were traces of semen on her bed, too...We got the call because there were no other sources to go to for the authorities."

"Oh my gosh...Nate, I am so sorry..." Steph wrapped a comforting arm around him, pulling him closer.

"It's just so hard...I mean, I couldn't even say goodbye to her." Nate shook his head. "It just isn't fair, you know?"

Steph nodded in understanding, knowing how it was to not be there for a loved one's last moments. She reached over, putting her other arm around Nate, bringing him into a gentle hug. Nate returned the affection, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It's okay...It's okay..." Steph soothed, stroking the back of his neck for comfort. Nate tilted his head up, gazing into his friend's deep blue eyes. Their faces were very close to each others'. They brought themselves closer, sharing a deep kiss. Nate wrapped his arms around Steph's waist tighter, leaning back to lay down with her ontop of him, feeling like he was in heaven. After a while, they slowly broke the kiss.

"Wow...Wasn't really expecting that." Nate said softly.

"Yeah, me either." Steph breathed; it was obvious she enjoyed the kiss just as much as he did. She leaned into his embrace, resting her head against his chest. "How long did it take you to do this?" She asked slightly teasingly.

Nate shrugged his shoulders, resting his chin on the top of her head. "I think ever since I met you at school. Maybe I have a soft side for sensitive blondes." He smiled, kissing her on the top of her head. "But better late than never..."

"You know it." Steph ran her finger down his chest and smiled cheekily up at Nate. "Looks like coming to San Francisco wasn't for nothing after all, huh?"

"I don't think I want to leave now." Nate pulled Steph up closer and kissed her lightly on the lips once more. "I don't think I can stay here, though..."

"What? What do you mean?" Steph blinked back tears, thinking that he was going to leave her.

"No, I mean, I really can't...My cellphone in my back pocket. It's on vibrate, hold on." Nate slowly sat up, Steph reluctantly moving out of his embrace. He stood up and took his cellphone out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey, Dad. Yeah, Steph and I are just...studying." He lied with a smirk, winking over at Steph, who blushed. "Sure, Dad, I got it. I know there's food in the fridge. We'll eat something later. Alright, bye." He hung up and set his cellphone aside, taking his spot beside his new girlfriend once more.

"So, where were we?" She smiled, moving closer to him.

"I think we were right here..." Nate leaned back again, pulling her into his arms, the both of them sharing their second passionate kiss that day...


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Steph walked into school the next day with the biggest smile on her face that she ever smiled. She wore a pair of denim jeans and a pink tanktop. She went to her locker and opened it, taking a few of her books out for her classes that she was to go to.

"Hey, Steph." Gia walked up to her friend, wearing a beige short sleeved shirt and khaki shorts.. "You look happy today."

"Oh, I am too happy today..." Steph grinned as she closed her locker.

"Oh really?" The young brunette folded her arms over her chest and smirked. "May this have anything to do with Nate?"

Steph sighed happily before speaking. "I guess I can tell you." She began. "After we got out of the nurse's office, Nate walked me to his house. His dad's pretty cool." She said. "We sat down and began talking. I never knew that he had so much in common with me...He told me about his mother and how she died and we wound up kissing on the couch."

Gia's jaw practically dropped to the floor. "Tanner, you animal!" She teased, hitting her friend lightly in the shoulder.

"It wasn't anything else, though, Gia." Steph added quickly. "We just kissed and hugged."

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't do anything further." Gia nodded solemnly. She looked towards the entrance of the school, seeing Nate walk in, who was wearing a black t-shirt with a few tribal designs on it and a pair of denim jeans. "Looks like your knight in shining armor's here. I'll see ya later." With that, she left Steph to go to her class.

"Good morning, Steph." Nate greeted as he approached her, backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hey yourself." Steph leaned up and lightly pecked him on the lips. "How you doing?"

"I'm doing awesome." Nate said as he leaned back against the lockers. "Talked with the coach over the phone when you left yesterday. He told me that I should take some time off to recover from the previous game and come back to play when I'm ready."

"That's pretty smart on his part. Can't have the star player getting sick or anything." Steph smiled, seeing Nate as just that. The star player.

"Well, thanks for the ego boost." Nate chuckled lightly. He kissed Steph lightly on the forehead and smiled. "But I don't think I can be the star player yet. I'm still new to the team and I got to work at it."

"Indeed you do. But you're awesome either way." Steph replied. "So, ready for history class?"

"Ready for class? Yeah. Ready to work? Not so much." Nate lightly teased. The young blonde rolled her eyes.

"Typical school boy fashion." She joked, sliding her fingers inbetween his as they walked to history class together. They were a couple and they were going to do whatever a good couple would do.

* * *

It was a pretty simple day for the students in history class. The teacher was out of the room so the students all had an assignment to do from their textbooks. Rich, who was in the same class as Nate, Steph, and Gia, looked towards the volleyball star in the making. "Hey, Thompson..."

Nate turned his head to face him. "What do you want?"

"During the game..." Rich began innocently.

"I don't want to talk about it." Nate quickly cut him off, not wanting to start anything.

"You fainted, right?" Paul chimed in, who was sitting beside Rich. "I mean...You actually fainted during the game?"

"Back off of him, will ya?" Gia glared over at the two in defense of her friend. "He just said he didn't want to talk about it, so drop it."

Rich couldn't help but smirk at all of this. "Oh, look at me, I'm Nate Thompson." He said mockingly, which Nate went red in the face at. "I'm the star volleyball jock, but I faint real easily during the games because I'm so weak and untalented." He added before making a fainting mock at his own desk. That little 'imitation' made a few of the students giggle.

Nate slammed his pen down on the desk and shot his head around to leer at Rich and Paul, just about fed up with the both of them. Steph turned her head as well, hoping it wouldn't get ugly.

"Oh, look what you did, Rich. You hurt the little fainter's feelings." Paul played along with a mocking frown.

"GO TO HELL, BOTH OF YOU!" Steph snapped, causing the whole room to become silent for a moment, not expecting an outburst like that from the usually reserved Tanner girl.

"Steph, it's fine..." Nate said softly.

"No, it's not fine!" Steph shot up from her seat and stormed over to Rich and Paul. She hauled her hand back and brought it back down, slapping Rich right across the face with as much force as she could muster. The slap left a big red hand imprint on the smug jock's cheek.

"You crazy bitch..." Rich seethed coldly, resting his hand over his reddened cheek. "Didn't your mother ever teach you how to act like a lady?"

Those words hit a little too close to home for Steph. Tears beginning to well up in her eyes, she quickly fled from the classroom without another word said. Nate swallowed hard, knowing that some bad feelings had been touched due to those comments. Shaking his head in disgust at Rich and Paul, Nate rose from his seat and left the room after his girlfriend.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" Gia hissed angrily at the two troublemakers in Rich and Paul, who couldn't offer a rebuttal. Before another word could be said amongst the students, their teacher, Mr. Carson, walked inside the classroom. He was a skinny man in his 40's and wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses on his head.

"What just happened here?" Mr. Carson questioned cluelessly, noticing the tension in the room. He then spotted two empty desks. "Where did Mr. Thompson and Ms. Tanner go?"

* * *

How could they be so cold, Steph wondered to herself. She slumped down against a wall in the hallway, sitting down against it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself gently. It wouldn't matter so much to other people if a mother comment was made to them, but to Steph, it was very personal.

"Steph?" Nate's voice echoed throughout the building, who was trying to find her. Turning a corner, he managed to see the figure of Steph, who was sitting by herself in the dark hallway. He raced over to her. "Steph, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay!" Steph sniffled, burying her face against her knees to hide her crying eyes from him. "They didn't have a right to say those things!"

"I know, baby. I know..." Nate nodded and sat down beside her, leaning against the wall. "But I guess we both have to face the fact that some people just aren't good people after all."

Steph only nodded, the tears continuing to stream down her cheeks. Nate moved closer and wrapped his arms around her.

"It'll be okay, Steph...I promise." He said softly.

Steph buried her head against his chest, finding a genuine love in the feeling of Nate's arms around her. It made her feel safe and that nothing in the world could ever harm her. She clutched the hem of his shirt for more comfort in him. "They shouldn't have said those things about you, either." She whispered.

"They're just words. I'll get over it in time." Nate ran his hand through her long blonde hair, brushing loose strands of it behind her ears. "Steph, I just hope you know that I do care about you. It hurts me to see you sad..." He placed his fingers lightly over her chin and tilted her head upwards to look into her eyes. "You shouldn't be sad. You're always more prettier when you smile."

Steph soon found herself smiling again; Nate's words found their way into her heart and it was a great comfort for her. She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly. "Thank you, Nate...I feel better now."

"Good to know." Nate smiled softly. "Do you feel up to coming back to class?"

Steph pondered that question and sighed. "This feels nice...But I know we got to get back. I think a teacher coming down here and finding us is a good chance anyway." She stood up and offered a hand to Nate, who took it and pulled himself up slowly. Hand in hand, the young couple walked back to the classroom.

* * *

"Now, can someone tell me the year when the Germans used Nazi concentration camps to eliminate the Jews?" Mr. Carson asked his students as he pointed to the blackboard behind him. Gia raised her hand.

"1941, sir." She replied.

"Good, Ms. Mahan." Mr. Carson nodded in approval. "Now, can someone tell me..." He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Steph and Nate walk into the classroom.

"Um, we're sorry about this, sir." Nate apologized quietly.

"Where have you two been?" Mr. Carson folded his arms over his chest. Steph and Nate looked to one another and then to the floor, short on an explanation for their teacher. That was when Gia spoke for her friends.

"A teacher came by when you were gone." She lied. "He wanted two people to help him put up a poster for a talent show coming up in a month."

Mr. Carson nodded, knowing that he could probably trust a student's word on this. "Well...If that's what it was. Mr. Thompson, Ms. Tanner, take your seats please." He demanded. Nate and Steph nodded, taking a seat at their desks, letting their teacher continue on with the lesson.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After school, Steph decided that she and Nate would spend some time together at her house. Walking inside through the front door and arriving at the living room, they were met by Steph's father, Daniel Ernest Tanner, better known to people as simply Danny.

"Hey, dad." Steph greeted.

"Hey, Steph. How was school?" Danny asked, not really noticing Nate right away.

"It was fine, I guess." Steph shrugged her shoulders. She looked up at Nate before smiling at her father. "Dad, I want you to meet someone. Nate, this is my dad, Danny Tanner. Dad, this is Nate Thompson-"

"The volleyball star you told me about?" Danny folded his arms over his chest, a smirk present on his face.

"Sheesh, Steph, have you told every single soul about me being a volleyball star?" Nate rolled his eyes before smiling politely at Danny, extending his hand forward. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Tanner."

"Pleasure's all mine." Danny nodded, accepting Nate's handshake.

"I think I recognize you, though...From TV. Wake Up, San Francisco, right?" Nate questioned.

"Yeah, that's my show. I do it along with my co-host, Rebecca Donaldson, Steph's aunt. We usually have a few guests on or we talk about the current events going on in the state." Danny stated.

"I've seen the show before. Clicked through the channels now and again. I got to say, you guys are hilarious." Nate smiled.

"You think they're funny? You should see Joey. More toys in his room than any preschool kid would probably have." Steph teased. "Dad, we got to study for a while, so..."

"Oh, don't worry. I can take a hint." Danny chuckled. "I was just about to leave. Nice meeting you, Nate." He finished before stepping out of the living room.

"You as well, Mr. Tanner." Nate replied. He turned his head to look at Steph. "Your father doesn't seem like such a bad guy."

Steph nodded. "Yeah, he's really great." She took a seat on the couch and patted the spot beside her, beckoning him over. Nate slowly sat down beside her.

"So, ready to study?" He asked, about to unzip the zipper on his backpack. That was, until Steph stopped him, taking him by the wrist.

"Oh, we aren't...I just made that studying excuse to get my dad out of the room." She batted her eyelashes flirtingly. Nate immediately smirked, knowing exactly what she had on her mind. He wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning forward and brushing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. Steph reached up, running her fingers down his cheek, returning the kiss.

"It's about time you guys got together." DJ spoke up from behind them, causing the two lovebirds to break up their liplock and turn towards the oldest Tanner sister.

"Deej, please...This isn't a free show." Steph commented, which Nate made a small snicker at.

"Sorry, sorry..." DJ chuckled before taking a seat beside her sister. "So, Nate, when's your next game?"

"I'll be returning to playing a week from today." Nate stated, tightening his arm around Steph. "Did they ever find out what happened to me the last time I played?"

DJ swallowed hard, hesitant to answer that question.

"Deej, you're hiding something...aren't you?" Steph asked softly.

"It's just..." DJ began gently. "Nate, it's like this. When we, Michelle, Uncle Jesse and me, left the nurse's office, we came across these two jocks in the hallway."

"Two jocks? Did they have spiked blonde hair and wear wrestling team jackets?" Nate cut in.

"That's them..." DJ nodded, to which Steph and Nate gave surprised glances at. "They said that they drugged up your water shortly before the game started. That's why you began to feel woozy during the second part of the game."

"That's when I fainted." Nate said.

DJ nodded her head again. "Uncle Jesse saw them talking afterwards and stood up to them for you, Nate." She continued. "He began to threaten them, saying that he'd bring them down if they hurt a person that makes her niece happy." She smiled softly before it faded again. "I just hope they don't hurt you..." She stood up and rushed into the kitchen, not wanting to say anymore.

"Nate...I don't know what to say." Steph laid her head on his chest and sighed softly.

"Don't say anything. Rich and Paul don't know what they're getting into." Nate shook his head. "They try anything stupid and I swear they will never want to mess with me again..." He ran a hand through her hair. "It'll be alright, baby." He soothed her.

"You promise?" Steph whispered, her deep eyes reflecting a hint of sadness in them.

"I promise, Steph..." Nate leaned back a little and pulled her closer, holding her there on him. Steph couldn't help but feel like she could fall asleep in his arms. Closing her eyes slowly, she began to drift off to sleep. They laid like that on the couch for a while before Uncle Jesse made his way inside. "Oh, um, hey there, Mr. Katsopolis."

"Hey there, Nate. Oh, and it's Jesse." The former lead singer of Jesse and the Rippers smirked.

"Right, sorry..." Nate chuckled softly.

"Don't sweat it." Jesse looked towards Steph. "You know...She really does care about you."

"I care about her too, Jesse. She's one of the first people I've met here in San Francisco that tried to reach out and be my friend." Nate said softly.

"Looks like you're a little closer than friends now, eh?" Jesse replied. "But I think it's nice...You should've seen how worried she was when your incident happened during the volleyball game. She was so scared for you. And to be honest, I think we all were...Drugs were known to kill people, you know."

"But the important thing here is that I'm okay. Lord knows what Steph here would do otherwise." Nate's gaze shifted towards the sleeping blonde in his arms.

Jesse nodded. "But a word of advice, Nate...Don't go too fast in this relationship. I don't want to see anything bad happen that will jeopardize both of your lives." He said softly. "I've seen a lot of people go to different levels in a relationship and they wind up so messed up...This could be worse for you two, though. You're still in highschool and you're still very young."

"Nothing will ever go out of control like that, though. Steph's a sensible girl and I just want what's best for her." Nate smiled softly. "It'll be fine."

"Glad to hear it. You're a good kid, Thompson." Jesse nodded solemnly before leaving the living room, glad that he could give some advice from the heart to a member of the younger generation.

* * *

After a while of sleeping on the couch, Nate and Steph went upstairs to her room, which she shared with Michelle. The younger Tanner sister, however, was nowhere to be found, which let the two of them to be alone.

"So, what do you want to do?" Steph asked.

"I don't know..." Nate shrugged his shoulders, exploring the room to his liking. He went over to Steph's dresser and saw a framed picture of her mother on it. "This is your mother, I assume?"

Steph only nodded, taking a seat on her bed.

"She's pretty." Nate said softly, holding up the photo and looking closely at it.

"Thank you...My dad always said that she reminded him of DJ, Michelle, and me." Steph stated.

"I can see why." Nate set the picture back down and sat down on the bed beside Steph. "So...How do you think the party is gonna be tomorrow?"

"Hopefully really cool. I got what I want to wear." Steph laid back on the bed and smiled.

"Yeah, me too. We're gonna have so much fun." Nate said with a smile. He leaned over a little, laying down, his head resting against her abdomen.

"You know we are." Steph agreed, tilting her head up some to look down at him. She moved her hand to stroke the side of Nate's face gently. "You know...This has been the best year of my life. You made me really happy, Nate Thompson."

"You made me really happy too, Stephanie Tanner." Nate said softly. He shifted his position on the bed so that he was laying right beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips. They stayed in that position for a while, in one another's arms, as they shared another heartfelt kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was the night of Kaylie Samuel's party and anyone who was anyone would be there. Nate and Steph were going to be those two people and they were going as a couple. In the living room, Jesse and his wife, Rebecca known affectionately as Becky, were watching TV together.

"So...You think she'll have a fun time?" Becky asked softly, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Of course she will, hun. We were in highschool, we went to parties and we had fun. It's gonna be the same with them." Jesse replied before looking at the clock on the wall. "Hmm...where's Steph anyway?"

"She's got a lot to do. She said she wanted to look her best." Becky answered. "You all ready, Steph!" She called up to her middle niece.

"I think so." Steph said before she walked down the steps. She wore a black spaghetti strap dress which reached just above her knees. Her hair was let down and she wore some light make-up to bring out her already beautiful appearance. When she made her way to the floor, she did a twirl to show herself off. "How do you like it?"

"Steph, you look beautiful. You're really going to take Nate's breath away with that." Becky said with a soft smile.

"Aunt Becky, I want to go out with him, not kill him." Steph said teasingly. "I wonder how Nate's gonna look, anyway..." When she heard the doorbell ring, her face practically beamed. She skipped to the door and opened it, only to find Kimmy Gibler, the best friend of DJ, standing there. "Oh...It's only you." She said with a melancholy tone to her voice, the beam in her face gone.

"Gee, sorry for the disappointment, goldilocks. DJ invited me over." Kimmy looked Steph up and down. "Where you going looking so dolled up?"

"I have a date. He's gonna be here any minute, so can you please go?" Steph pleaded.

"Alright, alright...Don't blow a blood vessel." Kimmy shook her head, making her way upstairs.

"Um, did I make a good entrance?" Nate questioned, coming up to the doorway. Steph sighed and turned around and her eyes widened; Nate looked, in her eyes, awesome. He wore a white shirt underneath a black dress jacket and matching pants. His hair was done in its usual short style, which she loved.

"Nate...You look great." Steph breathed.

"Thanks...You look so wonderful." Nate stepped closer and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss.

Jesse cleared his throat and stood up. "Now, now, you got plenty of time for that later at the party. Don't want to be late." He ushered the young couple through the door and out of the house. "Have a fun time."

* * *

The party at Kaylie Samuel's house was everything people expected it to be. Loud, many people partying and dancing to music and food and drinks for everyone. Nate drove Steph and himself to the house and pulled up by the curb to park there. They then made their way to the door and went inside.

"This is gonna be a fun night." Steph looped arms with Nate, who nodded in agreement.

"Hey, Steph! Nate!" Gia greeted as she went up to them, wearing a pair of white dress pants and a blue tanktop. "You guys came! Both of you look awesome."

"Thanks, same to you." Nate smiled a bit. "Man, this party sure got started fast."

"You know it." Gia replied, placing her hands on her hips. "So, you guys gonna dance now or what? The night isn't gonna be around forever, you know." She then smiled when a fast paced techno song began to play over the speakers. "There's your chance to go crazy."

"Will do." Steph laughed. "C'mon, Nate, let's go." She took her boyfriend by the hand and before they knew it, they began dancing, having the time of their lives. Nate's hands began to explore Steph's body slowly, slowly breaking from his once shy shell.

"You aren't so bad at this." Steph complimented.

"Right back at ya, beautiful." Nate replied before he gave her a kiss on the lips. When the song ended, everyone else went back to talking, leaving Steph and Nate to go outside on the balcony and just look at the nightsky dreamily together.

"Nice night, huh?" Nate questioned.

"Very nice...I guess you never really enjoy nights like these unless you're someone you really care about." Steph rested her head on his shoulder, feeling his arm go around her shoulders. "You were quite the dancer back there. Not to mention you're all hands sometimes." She added with a smirk.

"What can I say? I'm pretty physical." Nate chuckled softly. "I guess I'm not so shy anymore..."

"Nope, you're just another one of us." Steph pecked him gently on the cheek. "I got to use the bathroom. Will you-"

"I'll be right here." Nate nodded his head.

"Thanks." Steph flashed one of her famous smiles and made her way back inside the house. Nate decided to hang around the balcony, whistling quietly to himself. Kaylie Samuels, who was a young pretty brunette, stood in the doorway, watching him. She wore a black dress which showed off a lot of cleavage and reached to mid-thigh.

"Hey there, Nate." She greeted in a soft tone of voice, a smile curling her red lips.

"Oh, um, hi, Kaylie." Nate replied, turning around and arching a brow at her appearance. "Um, can I do something for you?"

"I think you can." Kaylie moved closer and pressed herself up against Nate seducively. "I've seen you around school...You are very cute." She looked him up and down. "And not a bad fashion sense, either."

"Look, Kaylie, I'm with Steph..." Nate shook his head.

"Who cares about her...When you can have a real girl?" Kaylie smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down into a forceful kiss. Nick, closing his eyes, tried to break away from it. Steph returned to witness what was going on and she felt her heart slowly begin to shatter. Tears stinging her eyes, she raced out of the room, only to be stopped by Gia.

"Steph, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" She asked softly, taking her friend by her arms.

"I hate Nate!" Steph sobbed; she couldn't believe the words that left her lips. "I hate all guys! I'm so sick of them!" She shoved past her and stormed out of the front door and out to the streets. Unsuspecting, she saw a bright light come towards her. But it was too late...

* * *

"Kaylie, get off of me!" Nate shouted, shoving her away from him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you gay or something?" Kaylie spat coldly.

"No, it's just that I'm with Steph and...and I love her." Nate blurted out, surprising even himself by saying that. He then smiled a bit. "Yeah...I love Steph. Now get out of my way." He made his way out the door, only to see most of the people gone from the party. "Hmm...where is everyone?" He continued to search and then went to the front door. He saw everyone huddled around in a circle on the street, a car stopped by it as well. It seemed like there was some sort of accident, which worried Nate even more. "Oh no..."

He raced over and tried to fight through the crowd of people and when he did, he was stunned! Steph was laying there, blood staining her dress and cuts on her forehead. "STEPH!" He cried, kneeling by her side and taking her hand in his. "What happened to her!"

"She was run over..." Gia sniffled. "She got mad and stormed out."

"Oh my god..." Nate whispered, running a hand through his hair. He looked to the side, seeing an ambulance come. A couple of paramedics checked on Steph's body and then loaded her onto a stretcher, putting her in the back without letting anyone else. The ambulance driving away immediately, the people who were once partying were not in so much of a partying mood anymore.


	10. Chapter 10 Final Chapter

**Chapter 10**

The whole Tanner family seemed to get the word from the hospital: Stephanie was run over by a car. The family was sitting in the waiting room, Danny and Joey sitting there in disbelief, Jesse trying to console a sobbing Becky, and DJ and Michelle just trying to keep their composure, although it was obvious the youngest Tanner girl had cried out all of her tears at home.

"I can't believe this could happen..." Danny shook his head.

"Well, the less said, the better, Dan." Jesse said softly, remembering she used the same words of wisdom on Stephanie before. His eyes were beginning to sting with tears as well.

"I wonder how Nate feels...He must be horrible right now." DJ sobbed.

Coming up to the family was Nate and Gia, both of them very short on words. "Hey, everybody." Nate managed out.

"Hello." The family greeted in unison. Nate looked over at Danny and sighed.

"Sir, I am so sorry...I was supposed to be watching Steph. But I wasn't." He apologized. "I wish that I could just feel the pain that Steph felt." He sighed, not so much referring to the car accident but to Steph having to witness Kaylie forcing herself onto him.

"Its alright, Nate...It wasn't your fault, so don't feel guilty." DJ said softly. Nate took a seat beside her, instantly feeling the oldest Tanner daughter's arm go around his shoulders for comfort. The young man let out a quivering sigh before pressing his head to her shoulder lightly. Gia took a seat beside Michelle and her gaze shifted to her feet.

"Excuse me...Tanner?" A doctor came out and looked to the group.

"Yes, sir?" Danny stood up slowly.

"Your daughter's resting right now. She won't be cleared to be released until tomorrow." The doctor replied, glad that he could tell them that Steph would be okay. "She suffered some cracked ribs and a broken arm, but other than that, no serious injury has been done."

"That's wonderful to know, doctor." Danny nodded. "Can we see her?"

"You can all visit her, if you please." The doctor laid down the rule. "After you all have visited, you all can go home peacefully.

----------------

When DJ was the second to last to see Steph in her hospital room, she went over to Nate. "Alright...It's your turn." She said softly.

"I don't know if I can even face her after..." Nate stopped himself. "I just don't know."

"I'll go with you then." DJ smiled sadly, keeping an arm around him as she lead them into the room. What they saw nearly broke Nate's heart. Steph was laid up in bed, IVs attached to her arms, her forehead bandaged up, stains of blood dried through it, and a cast on her left arm.

"See why I didn't want to come in?" Nate whispered.

"It's okay, Nate...I'll stay with you through this." DJ promised. She lead them to two seats beside Steph's bedside. They both sat beside each other and looked to Steph laid up in bed, trying their best to not burst into tears. "Nate, just be strong okay? I think she'd want that."

"Me too..." He reached over, taking Steph's nearly lifeless hand in his. "But...I just feel so bad."

"Don't be. You know that this wasn't any of your fault..." DJ replied, tilting her head to the side in some confusion.

"No, I meant that...Nevermind." Nate brushed off the thought for a second. "Deej...Could you leave us alone now? I think I can stay with her for a while now." The bright female smiled and nodded, clapping him on the shoulder and then stepping out of the room. This left the heartbroken Nate alone with the one girl he had eyes for.

"Steph, how could I let this happen? To you, of all people?" Nate wondered aloud, feeling guilty about this whole thing. "I can't believe this...The one time we went out to have fun and it ends like this. You always helped me...You brought my confidence back, you've given me my smile...And the one time when I could've helped you and I couldn't." He swallowed hard, hiding his face in his hands. "And you care about me...You brought people into my life that care about me, too." He looked up at the ceiling as if he were looking at God. "Please, don't take Steph away from me. For the first time, I am truly happy...So don't you dare take her from me. I can't live without her."

"Is that so?"

Nate's eyes shot wide open at the sight of Steph coming to. "Steph...you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm just in a little bit of pain, that's all." Steph looked up at her boyfriend and sighed. "Nate, I know what happened at the party earlier..."

"I swear, I never wanted to kiss her...She kissed me." Nate said honestly, gripping her hand in his tightly. "Steph, you know that I only have eyes for you...Kaylie kissed me, I didn't want it."

"I know you didn't...But it did hurt to see." She coughed and sat up slowly, Nate resting a hand on her back to support her.

"Trust me, Steph...I love you." Nate smiled softly, being the first time he said that.

"I...Wait, you just said..."

"I know. I do love you." He repeated, feeling so good to say it a second time.

"That's wonderful. Because I love you too." Steph leaned up a little further to kiss Nate. Supporting her gently, he claimed her lips in a soft kiss. Letting it go for a few seconds, they broke away and exchanged heart warming smiles. "Nate, baby, you better go...I got to get some rest."

"Okay, I'll come by tomorrow to see how you're doing." Nate helped her lay back down and gave her a goodbye kiss on the forehead before watching her drift off to sleep. Quietly, he stood up from his chair and stepped out of the room, a heavy feeling off of his shoulders.

----------------

"Guys, she's perfectly fine." Nate spoke as he approached the Tanner family, who were gathered around outside of the hospital. "I spoke to her for a while and I think she'll be okay in a few days anyways."

"That's good...I'm glad you were able to talk to her." Michelle smiled up at Nate, who couldn't help but return it.

"Thanks, Michelle." He rested his hand on the top of her head and then looked over at Danny. "Mr. Tanner, I'm really sorry still..."

"It's okay, Nate. It wasn't your fault." Danny shook his head and then turned to walk away. Until he began to think...Maybe this was all of his fault. "No...Nate, I don't think so."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"I think this was all of your fault." Danny started angrily.

"Danny..." Becky scolded him, trying to keep her composure.

"Becky, stay out of this." He blew her off before turning his glare back to Nate. "She was your date at that party, you should've been with her. And you know...I really doubt how much you really do care about her."

"Now hold up a minute!" Nate, finally sticking up for himself, got right into his face, DJ resting her hand over his arm to try and make him back off. "How the hell do you know what I'm feeling? How the hell would you know!"

"Nate, stop it!" DJ shouted.

"That's it, I've had enough of you!" Danny snapped. "Stephanie doesn't need somebody like you in her life. I don't want you seeing, talking to, or even going near her again!"

"You can't do that to me..." Nate swallowed hard, his tone softening.

"Well, I just did." Danny replied, taking a deep breath. "I don't want you two seeing each other anymore."

And that just about did it. "Look, Mr. Tanner, you can yell at me all you want, but you can't tell me not to see a person, especially someone I care so much about. I love her." Nate's jaw clenched. "Tell Steph that I'm sorry...I'm out of here." With that, he stormed off in a huff, not willing to look back.

"Wait, hold on...Did you say you...LOVED her?" Danny called back.

Nate stopped in his tracks and nodded. "I did...And I know I do. My feelings for her are real." He turned back around and approached Danny again. "My life, before I met Stephanie, has been nothing but one slap in the face after another. With her, I know where I belong in the world. She gave me my happiness back and nothing could take that way."

"Wow...I guess what she says you are, you are." Danny nodded. "She really does think highly of you and now I can see why." He half smiled. "Nate, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. You deserved better..."

"Think nothing of it." Nate said dismissively. He held his hand out for the older man to shake. "I hope things are okay now." Danny looked down at his hand and a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah...Things are okay." He took Nate's hand in a firm handshake, sealing another friendship.

----------------

"Go Nate! Woohoo!" Steph and the others cheered from the sidelines as the family watched yet another awesome volleyball from the sidelines. The star player, as always, was Nate. But something was different about this particular game...Everyone who Nate cared about came to see him. Each member of the Tanner family was there, but who really caught his eye was his own father, who took time off of work to watch his son play.

"C'mon, son, give it all you got!"

Nate smiled on the inside and took his spot on the court again. When the ball was served to him by the opposing team, he was quick to bump it up and let his teammate, Sammy, hit it back over. When it was brought back over again, Nate jumped up and spiked it back down on the other side, earning a point for his team. The crowd went absolutely wild, the score at an even 3 to 3. Taking a small break, the players went off to do their own things while Nate went over to the Tanners.

"Now this is how you play." He smirked. "What do you guys think?"

"Best game you've played ever." Steph answered simply with a grin. "I know I say that all the time but still."

DJ nodded in agreement and then something caught the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw Nate's father, Brendan, walk over to him. Nate ran a hand through his hair, wondering what his dad had to say to him.

"What is it, Dad?" He questioned.

"Just...Have fun out there." Brendan smiled, knowing he didn't need to make a speech. "That's all I want."

"Thanks, you know I will." Nate replied. Soon, the whistle sounded for the game to continue. "Wish me luck, guys!" He raced back over to the court and resumed playing. After a whole lot of back and forth action, the score was tied 25-24, Nate's team. One more point and they would win.

"Nate, here..." Sammy tossed the ball over to his friend. "You deserve to make this shot. You've been through a lot, you're the star..."

"You sure?" Nate's eyes narrowed.

"Go for it." Sammy nodded in response. Nate returned the nod and took his spot behind the serving line. He threw it up in the air and smacked it right over the net, the last game going underway. Being taken by surprise by a super fast shot, Nate slid to the ground and bumped it up while it was there, making it go over the net, going for a desperation maneuver. One of the opposite team members accidentally hit it too far and it was hit right out of the out of bounds line. The entire gym burst into cheers, the game won by their school. Nate laid there on the floor, hiding his face in his hands, amazed that he was able to pull a win for the team. He was then helped up by his teammates and they all exchanged high fives and congratulations. Nate grinned, accepting all of this and then shoved them away when he saw Steph race up to him. She leaped right into his arms and the two shared a passionate kiss, which garnered even more cheers. Inside, Nate knew he was lucky...He know was living a good life.

_I'm the living the best life any man could live..._ Nate thought to himself.

**THE END**


End file.
